1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a barbecue grill and, more particularly, to a heat transfer element for a barbecue grill.
2. Related Prior Art
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,466, a toaster oven includes an interior liner 26, four heating elements 28 and a diffuser 20. The diffuser 20 includes two legs 40 and 42 extending from an apex 44, a group of holes 52 defined therein near an end 48, and another group of holes 52 defined therein near another lateral side 50. The heating elements 28 are Calrod® tubular heaters extending transversely in a space defined by the interior liner 26. The first and second heating elements 28 are placed at a same elevation in an upper portion of the space defined by the interior liner 26. The third heating element 28 is placed above the fourth heating element 28 in a lower portion of the space defined by the interior liner 26. The diffuser 20 is placed above the third heating element 28. The apex 44 is placed horizontally. The heating elements 28 provide heat in operation. By radiation, a first portion of the heat provided by the third and fourth heating elements 28 is transferred to the diffuser 20. By convection, a second portion of the heat is transferred to the diffuser 20 via air. By convention, the first and second portions of the heat are diffused over the diffuser 20. Then, the first and second portions of the heat are transferred into the space defined by the interior liner 26 from the diffuser 20. However, each of the heating elements 28 provides more heat in the middle than at the ends. Hence, the holes 52 facilitate the flow of hot air, thus evenly distributing the heat to an elongated region above the third and fourth heating elements 28.
Similar diffusers are used in barbecue grills as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,368,009, 5,775,154 and 8,113,191. For example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,009, a barbecue grill includes a boiler chamber 100, three burners 105, 105A and 105B, three diffusers 109, 108 and 107 and two baffles 111 and 110. Each of the diffusers 109, 108 and 107 and baffles 111 and 110 is formed with an apex. The burners 105, 105A and 1058 are placed longitudinally in the boiler chamber 100. Each of the burners 105, 105A and 1058 includes upward-pointing orifices defined therein. Gas vents from the orifices and gets burned to provide heat. The diffuser 109 is placed above the burner 105 so that the former transversely diffuses the heat provided by the latter. The diffuser 108 is placed above the burners 105a so that the former transversely diffuses the heat provided by the latter. The diffuser 107 is placed above the burner 1058 so that the former transversely diffuses the heat provided by the latter. The baffle 111 is placed above a gap defined between the diffusers 109 and 108 so that the former transversely diffuses the heat that goes through the latter. The baffle 110 is placed above a gap defined between the diffusers 108 and 107 so that the former transversely diffuses the heat that goes through the latter. The apexes of the diffusers 109, 108 and 107 and baffles 111 and 110 extend horizontally.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.